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How to ask, what can you Do about limited mental ability

Here are the facts. If my timing is wrong I can get stuck if not paying attention with the not all there bagger of my groceries. I tried to avoid any line he is bagging groceries on for no other reason that he screws up and takes forever. If I somehow end up in the line (he moves) I try to bag as much of my stuff as I can (eggs do not go on the bottom!!!!)
OK guys fast forward to yesterday. He was following me around the store. Kind of creepy. Then he shows up and kinda bags my groceries ( I did as much as I could). then he shows up in the parking lot in the rain.

It is not easy to get someone into a mental hospital anymore. I speak from a little experience. I won't go into all the details but having a family member who is retarded and her having married a man with "problems" that his family won't admit that he has, plus laws passed to protect those with disabilities you have a maze of problems. I was told by the powers that be that at 18 my grandaughter was no longer my concern and to quit trying to control her life. That I had no legal right to do anything. Someone hired an advocate for her. The advocate must have explained all her "rights" to our grandaughter because the advocate and she went to the agency who looked after her and "fired" the agency. Government again.

charly

"To become competent in governing others, we must first learn to govern ourselves"
Waite Phillips

Sadly nothing you can do until a crime has been committed. Many families struggle with this, prison is often the only treatment centers available after they turn 18. Protect your self if it gets to creepy feeling. Maybe discreetly call store manager, this is probably not just happening to you. Could be a psycho waiting to blow or could be the nicest person you could ever meet. There was once a girl that would follow me around like that, she had the mental compacity of a five year old. When she turned 18 she married a drunk with a penchant for violence. Her mother wished she could have married me like she always said she was. She isn't so happy any more last I heard. Very sad.

If someone with a issue, per my officer friend, there are 2 results. 18 years old, 36 hours and bye bye with a signature. Unless they have committed harm to themselves or someone else. It is our PC society but someone has the ethic to work at the grocery store while someone else is laying on their back, collecting a government check.

Speak to the manager--just like you would with any employee. Simply describe your experience, as objectively as possible. If this person is able to grow from the feedback, then he deserves the feedback and the opportunity to grow from it; if he can't, then the manager needs to know so that it can be managed.

When you are a retail manager, you deal with The Special (usually undiagnosed and not obvious!) all day long every day--he or she should appreciate the info and will figure out what to do with it.

I don't know about elsewhere, but in Ohio Kroger seems to hire a lot of people with special needs, bothe physical and mental, and they seem to do a good job with it--I think it's a good thing and try to appreciate it... Or if I'm having a long day already, at least not mind it.

OK guys fast forward to yesterday. He was following me around the store. Kind of creepy.

you sure? baggers go on price checks. "Billy, get the price on chopped nuts"

Then he shows up and kinda bags my groceries ( I did as much as I could).

back at his post, sounds like a good worker

then he shows up in the parking lot in the rain.

funny how the shopping carts do not bring themself inside, "they" get scent out in the crap more often than Molly the Mall Goddess working the expres check out.

so often you gripe about those lazy slobs livin' on the dole and squeezin' out kids to stay in the country. and here this kid is WORKING! Doing his best to pull his weight and not live off of society. Even though, from no fault of his own, he is a bit behind the rest of the pack. and you gripe about him as well? Learn his name, shake his hand, say hello, engage in conversation. Fear not, you can not "Catch" what ails him.
Gosh girl you are a puzzle to me at times!

"So what is big is not always the Trout nor the Deer but the chance, the being there. And what is full is not necessarily the creel nor the freezer, but the memory." ~ Aldo Leopold

"The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery is not Ignorance -- It is the Illusion of Knowledge" ~ Daniel Boorstin

If someone with a issue, per my officer friend, there are 2 results. 18 years old, 36 hours and bye bye with a signature. Unless they have committed harm to themselves or someone else. It is our PC society but someone has the ethic to work at the grocery store while someone else is laying on their back, collecting a government check.

Some retarded people are earning a paycheck ( maybe ) and drawing a check ( SSI ) also. They may also have a "job coach" with them to help them learn the job. From what I have seen that job coach is often a waste of money. They hired my family member to help on a playground with small children ( heaven help us all ). The family member also has no ability to count etc. They put her in a job once where she was required to keep track of how many samples she handed out.....Hello ! This is a government run fiasco !!!! Inmates running the mental hospital.

P.S. So I can't spell ........again.

Last edited by charly_t; 02-18-2013 at 06:54 PM.

charly

"To become competent in governing others, we must first learn to govern ourselves"
Waite Phillips

you sure? baggers go on price checks. "Billy, get the price on chopped nuts"

back at his post, sounds like a good worker

funny how the shopping carts do not bring themself inside, "they" get scent out in the crap more often than Molly the Mall Goddess working the expres check out.

so often you gripe about those lazy slobs livin' on the dole and squeezin' out kids to stay in the country. and here this kid is WORKING! Doing his best to pull his weight and not live off of society. Even though, from no fault of his own, he is a bit behind the rest of the pack. and you gripe about him as well? Learn his name, shake his hand, say hello, engage in conversation. Fear not, you can not "Catch" what ails him.
Gosh girl you are a puzzle to me at times!

Ken,

Thank you for your post. I have avoided this thread because it made me so angry that I was afraid of what I would post. I have decided to post my personal experience.

Several years ago before I moved back to my hometown I shopped at a local grocery store that employed a challenged employee. He always made me a little uneasy but mainly it was my fault because he wasn't like me. The first time he carried my groceries out I gave him a small tip. He was in disbelief that someone would do that for him. It made me feel bad that I felt uneasy in the first place for such a kind and genuine human being.

The next time I went to the store he switched with the high school bagger to bag my groceries. I thought well I guess he wants the tip. We got out to my truck and I pulled out my money and he refused to take it and gave me a hug. I cried on the way home for being such a sad cynical person to doubt his intentions.

I miss the hug I used to get when I shopped there........he had the milk of human kindness in his soul.

I have learned I need these dogs much more than they need me. Tim Bockmon